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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028927">But Time is Spinning Silk that Coils Ruthlessly</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertedintellect350/pseuds/Introvertedintellect350'>Introvertedintellect350</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Downton Abbey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>19th Century, AU, Airships, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Steampunk, They're Married Because I Said So, This is probably innacurate to how steampunk is portrayed but whatever, Travel, Victorian Science Fiction, because who would I be if I didn't make it a little fluffy, steampunk!AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:41:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028927</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertedintellect350/pseuds/Introvertedintellect350</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas and Richard are stuck, grounded, unable to fly, when their airship the <em>Turton</em> breaks a timing gear during their test flight. The air is unlivable, too polluted to allow much sunlight through, and it’s only growing worse by the day. They must get out, up with everyone else, to their new home above the clouds, but will they even be able to with a broken airship? A Steampunk AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>But Time is Spinning Silk that Coils Ruthlessly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The title is a lyric from a Sleeping at Last song. Gotta give credit where it's due, right?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was nothing he could do now, it was broken. The airship <em>Turton</em>, running on a complicated network of fans, steam, and the ticking of clocks, was busted. And with the <em>Turton</em> - being one of the last to go up to the new platform on which they were now living ever since the air on the surface became unsustainable to live on due to the massive amounts of particulates in the air - now broken, Thomas and his family would never get up to the rest of society. They would have to wear their breathing masks and goggles around the clock, or stay inside the barely livable recycled air within the airship and live the rest of their days in isolation. Cursing, he threw down the wrench he’d been trying to tighten a bolt on the timing gear and walked off, muttering angrily under his breath. </p><p>“What happened?” Richard stepped out of the airship, voice muffled from his mask. Thomas could see the fear for their lives in the crease of his brow, and worry for him in the frown of his lips when he stopped and turned to face him.  </p><p>“Damn thing’s broken,” he replied, “Timing gear won’t turn properly, so the engine won’t run at full capacity because the timing’s off, and that’s why we got into the air, but only fifteen feet or so before crashing.” </p><p>“What about our air regulator?” His partner asked, his hands coming to rest on his arms, a comforting gesture. </p><p>“It’s running on a separate timing gear and entirely different clock because it runs slower than the engine to keep recycling the air, so it’s doing decent enough. We’ll survive for a long while before that thing shuts off, but I’m afraid if we try to fly again everything’ll shut down.” He looked up at his partner, trying for a smile but ending with a grimace. “I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one,”</p><p>“Let’s go inside and talk some more, I’m sure we can come up with something.” Richard reassured, one hand sliding down to take his own as he was led into the airship. Thomas looked down at his hands as they stepped inside, taking his mask off before sliding his off his gloves and tossing them on the table, thumb moving automatically to readjust the ring on his left hand as he sat down. In the low light, Richard’s ring glinted as he twisted it on his finger, watching him worriedly. Maybe some miracle would happen and someone would come back to look for them when they were realized to be missing in a few days, or perhaps they’d live out the rest of their days down here, looking for things to eat in the other forgotten failed airships that had been left behind. At the same time of course, they’d be trying to make sure they didn’t die of air poisoning, or the beasts that had grown to adapt to the toxic air and less than survivable sunlight that streamed weakly through the gray. The gray that seemed to have settled over the earth like a blanket that wasn’t protecting them, but suffocating them.</p><p>“So, tell me exactly what’s wrong with her.” Richard prompted after a few moments of quiet – though quiet was relative, as there was always the background noise of the release of steam, and the tick-tick-tick of gears turning. </p><p>“It’s like I said before,” Thomas began, sliding next to him on the couch, “The timing gear’s busted – I fear it may be twisted or bent or something, so that’s causing the engine not to run right. Without the timing gear running right, the rest of the engine can’t run properly, making it hard to start, and not want to get up to speed enough to generate enough steam to give us lift in the balloon. Listen close-” he paused, straining to listen for the off-beat clunk and <em>sshhh</em> of the engine.</p><p>“The engine isn’t running right now love, remember?” Richard reminded with a small grin at his husbands’ forgetfulness. </p><p>Thomas chuckled, shaking his head, “Right, of course. Because we fell out of the sky and now it won’t start at all.” He met Richard’s gaze with a quiet sigh, the smile falling from his lips; he genuinely didn’t know how to go about fixing the timing gear, and it may not be the only thing wrong either. </p><p>“At least the air regulator is still working,” Richard commented.</p><p>“Thank god for that.” Thomas agreed. “And we’ve still got a supply of food for a few days at least. But we weren’t planning for this, I was expecting to be up there with everyone else by now, where there’s plenty of food and fresh water, sunlight. . .”</p><p>“We’ll figure it out. You always were a master at clocks, if anyone can fix the <em>Turton</em> it’s you.” He reached for his hands, their fingers lacing together comfortingly. </p><p>“And I suppose you’ll chart us a course out of here?” Thomas returned, frustration flaring up at the impossibility of their situation. Seeing Richard’s expression tighten, he apologized quickly. “Sorry, I know you’re doing your best with what you have. There’s not much either us can do at the moment, I suppose.” Richard had a hobby of cartography that was quickly turning into a needed skill now that they were grounded. He felt bad for making a jab at something he was only now truly learning how to do, and tightened his fingers around Richard’s. </p><p>“I know you think you’re the resident expert around here, Thomas, but if anyone can figure out where the next break in the clouds will be and which direction we need to head, it’s me.” Richard said, meeting his gaze levelly.</p><p>Thomas chewed on his bottom lip, nodding in agreement and feeling chastised. “I know, you’re right. I’m sorry.” He apologized again, looking down. “I wasn’t expecting the engine to break down, I don’t know what I did wrong. Our engine is the same as the Bates’, and they took off yesterday without a hitch.” He was mulling the problem over and over in his mind, unable to come up with a solution. Even if he was able to get the timing gear fixed, what if there was more than that problem to be discovered? What if something had seriously broken and he had to replace a part? He would have to go scavenging around the other left behind airships for parts. That would be dangerous, with all the animals that were now roaming freely, having adapted to the suffocating atmosphere. </p><p>“Is there anyone else who hasn’t left for the surface yet? They might be able to help.”</p><p>Thomas’s initial reaction was to disregard asking for help – this was his fault and he would fix it. But doubt crept in soon after and realized they may not be able to get off the ground without help. “I don’t know, I think Sybil and Tom might still be here, but they’re six miles away.” </p><p>“When are they supposed to leave?”</p><p>“I heard tomorrow morning, and they’re the last ones.” </p><p>Richard sighed, “Don’t suppose either of us are up for walking six miles to see if they’re still there, hm?” </p><p>“Not particularly. Not if I can fix this quickly enough.” Thomas shook his head, thumb absentmindedly tracing over his partner’s fingers. “But before I go back out there, should we clean up a bit?” He looked around the spacious room from where they were seated in the middle on the couch. The door was directly across from them, and to their left was essentially the cockpit at the bow of the <em>Turton</em>. Two battered seats scrapped from previous versions of airships sat behind a control panel and a ship’s wheel to steer them. Behind that, in between the helm and the couch sat a small table with two chairs. With their crash landing, everything on the table had been thrown off, and the chairs had slid across the floor. To their right was a small kitchen which luckily, had locking cabinet doors that had been locked pre-flight-attempt. Beyond the kitchen was a stairway that led to above deck, and a door that led to a reasonably sized bedroom. Strewn across the floor there were objects of all matters from all corners of the airship, including map drafts, various small tools, a few pairs of boots that had been sitting near the door, and their precious few comfort items such as a blanket and pillow. </p><p>“We should.” Richard nodded in agreement, standing before crouching to pick up the papers scattered across the floor. Thomas followed and methodically they tidied, arranging everything back to the place it should be. When the last boot had been placed back by the door, and drafts placed back in a pile on the table, he pulled Richard gently into a hug. </p><p>“Sorry for being touchy earlier. I’m scared, truthfully, and feel like I’ve failed you – and <em>us</em> – for not getting us out when we need to be out. We can’t survive down here-”</p><p>“Thomas, darling,” Richard pulled away slightly to look at him, familiar comforting gesture of his hands on his shoulders, “We’ll get up there. You’ll fix the engine and I’ll find us a course and we’ll be on our way within a couple of days, alright?” Thomas relaxed at his husbands’ words, letting out a deep breath and nodding. “If we must go find some spare parts, we will go find some spare parts. If we must go the long way around to a gap in this damn fog covering the earth, then we’ll do that too.” Richard leaned in, pressing a quick but heartfelt kiss to his lips and Thomas relaxed further yet, feeling safer in his arms than anywhere else. </p><p>Thomas smiled when they parted, lingering in his space, forehead to before sighing, “Thank you.” </p><p>“Let’s get to work then, shall we?” Richard replied, returning his smile. </p><p>“Let’s.”</p>
<hr/><p>Over the next two days Thomas worked tirelessly to straighten out and fix the timing gear as well as diagnose any other possible problems within the engine and various other inner workings of the <em>Turton</em>. Whenever he got stuck or overly frustrated, he would go and find Richard working up in the helm to see what progress he was making with his sextant and wind charts and maps. </p><p>Both worked until they couldn’t anymore. Thomas hit a wall, finding another gear attached to a clock that had sheared off, as well as a crushed steam-pressure regulator pipe deep in the belly of the airship; Richard plotted their path for once they got into the air, but that window was closing quickly – within four days from the time he’d plotted it, then he’d have to start again and find a new gap. With the fog being as dense as it was, the airship would be unable to process and clean the air into clean steam to run the ship, so they’d crash just like their first attempt at flight. </p><p>At the end of the third day, Thomas fell into bed next to Richard, sighing heavily. He rolled onto his side, facing him. “I have some good news. I was able to find a replacement pipe for the steam-pressure regulator.” He laughed as a wide grin overtook Richard’s expression and he was suddenly crushed by the joyous weight of his husband pressing kisses all over his face. Thomas looked up with a smile, fondly brushing a lock of hair away that was dangling into his eyes. </p><p>“That’s wonderful news! What of the other two timing gears? Do we have replacements of those as well?” Richard asked hopefully. </p><p>“I’m afraid we’re going to have to go searching for those,” Thomas replied, smile drooping. “I know we only have a few days, given it’ll take us a day to get to the gap.”</p><p>“Let’s go tomorrow, first thing. If I recall, there one just over a mile from here, nearer the river. Their balloon snagged on one of the trees and ripped a few months back, so they built a whole new ship. Bit of a waste if you ask me, building a whole new ship instead of just replacing or patching the balloon, but it’s the Crawley’s and you know how they are.” Richard rambled.</p><p>Thomas nodded, murmuring his assent. The Crawley’s were a higher class then them, much more an upper crust family, so he supposed they could afford to simply abandon their previous airship and have a new one built. It wouldn’t be overnight, but they had gotten their new airship up and running within a month and a half, just in time for the first wave of people to head up top. </p><p>“Maybe we’ll find some other useful things too, aside from the timing gears. It won’t hurt if we searched the whole ship.” Richard suggested with a smile. </p><p>Thomas chuckled, “Don’t get your hopes up too high, now, most of it’ll likely be ruined by animals having moved in and such. But maybe we’ll find something.” </p><p>“I bet there’ll be something,” Richard persisted, ever the optimist, rolling the opposite direction to turn out the light before returning to his side, tucked up next to him comfortably. Thomas smiled as a kiss was pressed to his cheek and he closed his eyes, hopeful for what tomorrow would bring.</p>
<hr/><p>The next morning Thomas was finishing eating a breakfast of eggs, a slice of bread with some butter – they were running low on butter, disappointingly – and a hot cup of tea when Richard joined him sleepily. </p><p>	“Morning, darling,” Richard yawned, joining him across the table with his own plate of breakfast. </p><p>	“Morning,” Thomas smiled, sipping his tea. Richard had always been a later riser than him, though lately as they’d been working so hard to get the <em>Turton</em> back in the air, they were both tired. He realized he himself rose later than usual this morning, even as excited as he was to get to the Crawley’s abandoned ship. “Do you know exactly the way to the Crawley’s airship?” </p><p>	Richard swallowed a bite of bread and nodded, “I figured it out while I was working on our course. I’ve got a map drawn up we can follow. It’s not polished, but it’s functional.”</p><p>	“That’s wonderful, Richard.” Thomas replied, taking the last bite of his eggs and washing it down with the rest of his tea before standing to wash his dishes. </p><p>	Fifteen minutes later they were ready to walk out the door, slipping gloves over fingers and breathing masks over faces. Richard held the map rolled up in one hand, and Thomas had a belt of tools they might possibly need to get into the inner workings of the ship. He stepped out into the watery gray sunlight, looking around at the muted landscape. Every time he stepped outside, he was reminded what the land looked like, and what it used to be. He remembered thriving flowers and green glass, and now what laid in front of him were dead flowers and dying trees, along with much more mud than there used to be. Thomas turned, watching Richard follow him out, close and lock the door, then unroll the map from his bag. He let him lead the way, knowing only the general direction they were meant to head. Some twenty minutes later and a wrong turn that led them into a copse of trees instead of towards the river, they finally made it to the airship. It was much, much larger than his and Richard’s, Thomas noticed as they stood next to the towering ship, nearly entirely covered with a deflated balloon that had a jagged tear down the side. It was leaning against the tree he presumed had taken the airship down and caused the Crawley’s to abandon it. </p><p>	“Right, first order of business:” Thomas said, clapping his gloved hands together before adjusting his breathing mask and continuing, “We find the timing gears. I packed the two broken ones, so we’d know exactly what to look for. It has to be fairly precise.” He twisted, shrugging his pack off his shoulders and retrieving the twisted timing gear, and the other smaller clock gear, handing one to Richard and putting his pack back on. </p><p>	“We don’t know what’s down there, so be careful.” Richard warned, sounding cautious as they approached the airship. Once they were close enough to make out the grain of the wood, Thomas noticed faded golden paint reading <em>The Crawley</em> and he scoffed. Of <em>course</em> the upper class family would name their ship after their family name. Shaking his head, he reached for the door handle with one hand, retrieving his dagger from its pouch, having put the timing gear in a pocket. He was fully prepared to have some animal leaping at him for disturbing its home but was hopeful for nothing to come flying out at him and Richard. Hand on the handle, he glanced at Richard who nodded, knife shifting in his own gloved hand. Sucking in a quick breath, he flung the door open, jumping around directly in front of the doorway, dagger extended. Heart beating rapidly in his chest, Thomas stepped cautiously into the <em>Crawley</em>, Richard on his heels. As his eyes adjusted to the darkened room, he could make out a lavish looking kitchen and next to it a table that could seat roughly six. He relaxed, seeing nothing was disturbed and all the furnishings were covered in dust. Everything appeared expensive – the floor even had polished wood panels instead of the rough, unfinished flooring of their own airship. The space inside was large, and he noticed that there were lights hanging on the walls that looked like they ran off electricity. </p><p>	“Wow, this is. . . lavish.” Richard breathed, running a finger along the heavy, expensive looking counter tops. “Where do you think the door to belowdecks is?” He turned to look at Thomas, who shrugged. </p><p>	“You take the left and I’ll take the right and see who finds it first?” He suggested.</p><p>	“Sure,” Richard nodded. He grinned, “I bet the bedroom’s that way, I wonder-”</p><p>	“We’ll have time to look around properly later,” Thomas cut him off with a quiet chuckle. “Let’s focus on finding these gears first.” He turned, heading towards what he assumed was the front of the ship. He found a staircase leading to the upper deck where he thought must be the helm since directly beside the staircase was a doorway leading to a storage room that was full of rotted fruits. He held his breath from the stench, looking around for only a moment more, taking note of the shelves in the back lined with canned goods. He made a mental note to come back for those later, then ducked out and continued searching for the way belowdecks. </p><p>	“Thomas, over here!” </p><p>Thomas turned, hearing Richard’s voice from the other end of the ship some minutes later sounding muffled and far away. He followed the sound and found him standing over an open trap door at the far end of the airship having come down a long hallway past three doors. “You found it!”</p><p>“I did.” Richard smiled. “Now you’re the one who knows what he’s doing down there, you first.” He gestured towards the ladder leading into the darkness of the underbelly of the ship, producing a lantern he must have found in one of the rooms along the hallway. It was lit, the flame steady. </p><p>Thomas took the lantern and stepped down into the dark, calling up when he got to the bottom that Richard could follow him. Richard stepped down the ladder, taking his extended hand as he neared the bottom, steadying himself as he jumped off the bottom metal rung. Once they were both down, Thomas looked around. There were wires, pipes, steam release valves, cannisters that were supposedly to be used to hold steam, and it was pitch black and much bigger than Thomas had been expecting. Though, given the size of the ship he should have known the underbelly would be large too. He hoped he’d be able to find the main engine, as that’s where the gears would be. </p><p>“You know what the engine looks like, right?” Thomas checked, looking over to Richard, the light of the lantern faintly illuminating his features through his mask - his high cheekbones, the sandy blond of his hair over his forehead, the blue of his eyes. Richard nodded, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth briefly. “Let’s search for that first, then we should find the gears there.” </p><p>“Sounds good.” </p><p>Lantern stretched in front of them up as high as it would go so to illuminate the space, they set to searching for the engine. If it was anything like the Turton, it would be somewhere near the back of the room. A few minutes of searching, he found he was right, and the engine was at the back, but he was not prepared for the sheer size of it. It was about three times as large as theirs – and undoubtedly more complicated. Especially given they had electricity running through the whole ship. Thomas was still getting used to the whole electricity thing, and wasn’t quite sure how it worked yet. </p><p>He huffed out a breath, looking over at Richard as they stopped in front of the massive engine. “Right, so you look for a gear like the one I gave you earlier, and I’ll look for mine. Hopefully it won’t take us too long.” </p><p>“Let’s hope,” Richard gave him an optimistic smile, pulling the old gear out of his pocket to check the dimensions. Thomas did the same and they resumed searching, having to use his toolbelt to get inside and take it apart piece by piece. Several minutes, unscrewed bolts, and removed steam pipes later he was bending into the engine, searching around, muttering under his breath for what he needed to find. He just needed to find the timing trigger, then behind that would be the timing gear. . . </p><p><em>“Aha!”</em> He cried, minutes later, gloves and the front of his shirt layered with grease and dust as he wiggled free the gear and backed his torso out of the inner workings of the engine. “Found it! You find yours yet, Richard?” Thomas asked, looking down at his feet. His husband was lying on his back, having made his way underneath the engine where Thomas had mentioned he thought the smaller gear would be. </p><p>“I. . .believe so?” Richard answered uncertainly, shimmying out from under the engine to show him a gear. “It’s dark under there, I couldn’t really see it properly. Is it the right one?” He sat up, holding out the other broken gear from their engine next to the one he’d just found. Thomas crouched down, looking at it closely. It looked the right size, and had the right kind of teeth along the outer edge.<br/>
“It’s the right one.” He nodded, giving Richard a smile. </p><p>“Then let’s go back up top and explore, shall we?”</p><p>Thomas nodded again, helping him to his feet and putting all four gears back into his pack and shouldering it again. They made their way back up the ladder and when they got to the top, Thomas said, “I found a pantry earlier, there were some cans I think we might grab.”</p><p>“I’ll check out these rooms here, see if there’s anything else worthwhile,” Richard gestured to the rooms in the hall ahead of them. He started forward, ducking into the first room while Thomas continued on, back towards the pantry. When he opened the door, he was hit with another wave of putrid fruit and nearly gagged, wishing his mask did more than filter out toxins. He stepped back, taking a few breaths of fresh air before taking one large breath and holding it, stepping back into the pantry. He grabbed cans of beans, fruit, and a few vegetables through several trips, and soon his pack was quite weighed down. He didn’t expect to find much else, but as he rooted through a few drawers in the kitchen Thomas found cutlery they could use, much nicer than their current set, and tucked that into his pack as well. As he was hoisting his pack back onto his shoulders, he turned to see Richard walking towards him with a large downy blanket bundled in his arms. </p><p>“Of all the nice things on this ship, <em>that’s</em> what you take?” Thomas asked chuckling, a grin rising to his lips. </p><p>Richard shrugged, smiling sheepishly, “The Crawley’s aren’t using it, I figured we could.” </p><p>Thomas shook his head, still chuckling. “I suppose you’re right. Ready to go?” When his husband nodded in affirmation, he led the way back out of the airship, shutting the door firmly behind them. Their walk back to the <em>Turton</em> was mostly silent until Thomas wondered aloud, “I wonder why they just left all their nice wares there. Surely they could have taken more of the food with them, to put into their new airship? Or the silver forks and knives I took?” </p><p>“They’re rich and the upper class, what other explanation is needed?” Richard scoffed, shifting the comforter in his arms. “They have more than they need, and can afford to leave things behind.”</p><p>“Means more for us, I guess.” Thomas smirked, and Richard laughed in agreement.</p>
<hr/><p>“Nearly done, then?” Richard asked, crouching beside Thomas as he finished tightening the last replacement gear into place in the engine that afternoon. </p><p>“Nearly there. Bet she’ll be up and flying by this evening.” He felt hopeful that the work he’d done had made the engine fully functioning again, and that they’d be able to leave tomorrow morning for the gap. They had a day from tomorrow to get above the layer of pollution of they’d have to plot a new course – which would take days they didn’t have. </p><p>“Should we leave tonight? Get a head start perhaps?” Richard suggested, looking hopeful. </p><p>“Provided the engine runs, I don’t see why not. You want to get things secured while I finish up, then we’ll do a test run?” </p><p>“Sure,”</p><p> “See you inside,” Thomas looked up as Richard stood and walked back inside, then focused on the engine again, double-checking his work. </p><p>Twenty minutes later both he and Richard were sitting at the helm, waiting with bated breath as the engine started, filling up the balloon above them with steam and he slowly pushed the lever forward that would lift them off the ground. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then he pushed the lever a bit further and suddenly, the <em>Turton</em> shifted and groaned, the feeling of being securely on the ground gone. They hovered a few feet in the air and Richard whooped.</p><p>“You <em>beautiful</em> ship!” He cheered, leaning over and kissing Thomas in victory. “You did it, Thomas. I knew you could.” He whispered as he pulled back, smiling against his lips. Thomas too, was overjoyed, ecstatic at having succeeded in fixing their ship. He pressed another victorious kiss against his lips, then pulled away. </p><p>“Shall we see how she drives?”</p><p>“Absolutely.” Richard agreed, settling back into his own seat. “We’re to head east, towards the mountains, if we want to start heading that direction.” He scanned the map unfolded in front of him, nodding slightly and checking his calculations.</p><p>Thomas nodded, steering the sun behind them and facing straight towards the mountains, allowing them to gradually build speed until they were moving at a comfortable 22 knots. There was minimal wind, for which he was glad, as it made it easier to keep a straight course. They kept the course until it was dark, then settled back on the ground for the night. They hadn’t traveled very far, but it was a start, and as they turned out the lights for the night and settled into bed, Thomas sighed and looked over at Richard, smiling warmly at him. “I’m proud of us. Just think, tomorrow this time we’ll be looking down on this ghastly gray, up there with everyone else, the society in the skies.” </p><p>“The society in the skies,” Richard murmured sleepily in reply. “We’re nearly there.”</p>
<hr/><p>The next morning, they arose early eating a quick breakfast – using their new stolen silverware - before lifting off, heading in direction Richard had plotted. By mid-afternoon they were nearing the gap, and Thomas’s stomach tightened with nerves. It was smaller than he’d been expecting, and was worried they wouldn’t fit through. He voiced his concerns to Richard. </p><p>“So long as we have enough speed carrying us through, there’ll be a bit of an updraft helping us and we should make it.” Came the reply. He sounded unconcerned, but Thomas knew him well enough to know he was bluffing. They were both scared they wouldn’t make it. </p><p>As they grew nearer and nearer, Thomas began lifting them higher into the air, until they were just under the thick gray barrier. He could hear the engine working harder as it tried to keep up with the less than clean air that filtered through its system. “C’mon. . . c’mon. . .” He muttered, slowing down as they reached the gap. His heart raced as they came to a stop directly above the break in the fog, sunlight shining through the thinner clouds. Looking over at Richard, he sucked in a deep breath then exhaled. “Here we go,”</p><p>Slowly, Thomas lifted the lever, changing the gears from moving them forward, to solely moving them upwards. He needed all the power the <em>Turton</em> had to get them through the fog. The engine whined as he pressed harder, asking for more, teeth clenched tightly together as they rose excruciatingly slowly upwards. He couldn’t see their surroundings anymore, as the fog swallowed them whole. His stomach dropped as the sound of the engine slowed without his doing. He should have known the pollution would be too much for the engine. There were too many pollutants and clean air couldn’t get through the filter, it wasn’t built for this kind of altitude – </p><p>	“Ah, it’s <em>bright</em>.” Thomas flinched, anxious thoughts stopping in their tracks, disrupted as sunlight suddenly poured in the window like liquid gold. A feeling of elation flooded Thomas’s chest as they rose, <em>finally</em>, above the fog; he could have cried at the sight of bright sunlight reflecting off the brilliant white clouds that surrounded them. He set the <em>Turton</em> to hover and pulled Richard behind him as he raced above decks, whooping loudly into the sky. He spun, watching his husband cheer, arms above his head. He felt childlike in his celebration, and laughed as Richard encircled his arms around him, breathless with excitement and joy. </p><p>“I haven’t seen sky this blue since I can’t remember when.” Richard said, gaze rising to the sky, smile wide. Thomas grinned, wanting to see him this happy forever. If they could live in this moment of pure elation and relief, he would stop time to do so. </p><p>	“We did it, Richard, we did it.” Thomas laughed, unable to stop smiling enough to kiss his husband properly. </p><p>	“We did,” Richard agreed, pulling out of his arms and tugging on his hand, leading him to the side of the ship and looking over the edge. Below them was an angry-looking gray mass as far as the eye could see, the gap having closed just after they made it through. Thomas had never felt more grateful to be standing above the earth, fingers locked with Richard’s, in the unfiltered, warm light of the sun.</p><p>	He pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his waist and closing his eyes, tilting his head back to feel the sun on his skin. They had completed their mission, not without hardships, and made it out on the other side safely. He sighed, releasing a long, slow breath, realizing they weren’t quite there yet, but they would be alright. </p><p>After all, they’d made it this far, right?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I lowkey want to expand on this and keep writing? But I also have no idea what direction to go. Let me know if I should continue, or leave it as a one-shot!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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